Day 2: Gardening 101
Hopefully you won't get tired of the gardening analogy because it was Jesus who started the comparison, I'm just leaning into it. The parallels between a healthy fruit producing plant and a healthy fruit producing Christian are similar. When it comes to gardening, I did a little research, and I investigated the five most important aspects of growing produce. Here's what they are:
1. Soil Health:
Healthy soil is the foundation for successful plant growth. It should be nutrient-rich, well-draining, and have the proper pH balance for the specific crop. Adding organic matter like compost enhances soil structure and fertility.
2. Watering and Irrigation:
Consistent and appropriate watering is crucial. Overwatering can lead to root rot, while underwatering can cause stunted growth. Different crops have different water needs, so understanding each plant’s requirements is key.
3. Sunlight:
Most produce requires full sunlight (6-8 hours daily). Proper placement in a sunny location ensures plants can photosynthesize efficiently, producing the energy needed for growth and fruit production.
4. Pest and Disease Management:
Protecting plants from pests and diseases is essential. Use integrated pest management (IPM) techniques, such as introducing beneficial insects, using natural repellents, and rotating crops to reduce the risk of infestation and disease.
5. Proper Plant Care:
Regular maintenance, such as pruning, weeding, and fertilizing, ensures healthy plant development. Providing support structures for plants like tomatoes or cucumbers can optimize growth and increase yield.
These five aspects just go to show how incredibly full of wisdom and truth Jesus is as evidenced by his parable of the sower in Matthew Chapter 13. He didn’t go to horticulture classes or study at the Jerusalem school of greenhouse, He is the all-knowing King of Kings!
Matthew 13:1 That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. 2 And great crowds gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat down. And the whole crowd stood on the beach. 3 And he told them many things in parables, saying: “A sower went out to sow. 4 And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. 5 Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, 6 but when the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, they withered away. 7 Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. 8 Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. 9 He who has ears, let him hear.”
In this parable he talks about several of the most important aspects of growing a crop. He's talking about soil, he's talking about the nutrients that are brought forth by proper irrigation and water, he's talking about sunlight, he's talking about pests, and he is talking about the yield of good and bad crops!
At the end of our time yesterday, I wanted you to really survey the soil of your life. Today, along the same line, Jesus is talking about the message of the Gospel landing on receptive and healthy hearts to produce the good fruit. In our lives if you're doing this prayer and fasting you have accepted the gospel, and now we're looking at the fruit of that in our lives. Are we going to be people who are hard like the path and do not allow for any growth and eventually the pests take away our fruit? Are we going to have distractions or unhealthy aspects in our life that are going to choke out our fruit? Are we going to be planted and rooted in good soil and allow the fruit of the spirit to multiply in our lives?
If you surveyed where your roots were planted yesterday and the Lord suggested some things that maybe need to be cultivated differently or removed from your life, let today's devotion reiterate that for you. For sake of clarity I will stop speaking in the analogy. Here is the plain truth, we cannot grow to our full redemptive potential if we are spending a lot of our lives in unhealthy practices, habits, environments, or thought patterns. The desire of this fast and the prayer time is so that we can put ourselves in a spiritually healthy environment so that God can truly move in our lives and produce fruit through our lives.
Today, let us finish our survey of our environment and begin to allow God to cultivate where he needs to cultivate, maybe uproot and replant some things, or maybe allow him to move us into more of His light. Let's allow Him to reign in every aspect of our life and fully commit to following his lead. Because when he is leading, that is when we will be living our most fruitful, fulfilling, and impactful life. Today, make sure you are in an environment that is conducive to your spiritual health, putting God first in every aspect of your life, and fully relying on Him for your source of life!